In conversation with Troy Bramston

Listen to this ANU/Canberra Times Meet the Author conversation on the Experience ANU SoundCloud channel

Troy Bramston will be in conversation with Paul Kelly on Troy's new book, Bob Hawke. Demons and Destiny, the definitive full-life biography of Australia's 23rd prime minister; the only one that Hawke cooperated with after exiting the prime ministership.

This unprecedented biography of Hawke includes an exclusive series of interviews with him - the last that he gave - as well as unfiltered access to his extensive trove of personal papers. It features new interviews with more than 100 people who knew and worked with Hawke, including his family and friends; political and union colleagues, and rivals; advisers and public servants; and journalists; along with international contemporaries of Hawke such as George H.W. Bush, John Major, Brian Mulroney, James Baker and George Shultz.

It also brings together an extraordinary array of never-before-seen archival documents: family diaries, notes, letters and scrapbooks; school and university reports; cabinet, departmental and vice-regal papers; party strategy documents, polling and caucus minutes; and secret correspondence and meeting records between Hawke and other Cold War leaders.

This book is about the real Hawke, chronicling the stunning triumphs and shocking failures, a life riddled with huge flaws and great virtues marked by redemption and reinvention, which changed Australia and shaped the world. Revelatory and compelling, it will shock and surprise those who think they know the story of Australia's most popular prime minister.

Award-winning and best-selling author, Troy Bramston, has been a senior writer and columnist with The Australian newspaper since 2011. Troy is the author or editor of 11 books, including Robert Menzies: The Art of Politics (2019) and Paul Keating: The Big-Picture Leader (2016), which was a finalist for the Walkley Award, shortlisted for the National Biography Award and longlisted for the Australian Book Industry Award. Troy co-authored The Truth of the Palace Letters (2020) and The Dismissal (2015) with Paul Kelly.

Paul Kelly is Editor-at-Large on The Australian and previously Editor-in-Chief. Paul has covered Australian governments from Gough Whitlam to Scott Morrison. He is the author of 12 books on Australian politics and history including the influential The End of Certainty: Power, Politics and Business in Australia (1992) and Triumph & Demise: The Broken Promise of a Labor Generation (2014)

ANU Emeritus Professor and Canberra Times columnist , John Warhurst, will give the vote of thanks.

This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase on the evening in the Cultural Centre foyer. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm, and available again after the event.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Registration is required for this event.
• Accessible parking spaces are available around campus should you require them.
• This is an in-person, indoor event and ANU requires masks to be worn.
• To help keep everyone safe, please ensure that you are familiar with, and follow, the advice from ACT Health regarding COVID-19.
• If you do not feel well, please refrain from attending this event.
• By registering for this event, you are accepting our privacy policy.
• A podcast will be made available after the event.